Beverage treated with nicotine

ABSTRACT

The present application is directed to a method for preparing a solution containing processed nicotine and beverages made according to such method. The beverage produced according to this method does not have the discernible taste, smell or appearance of nicotine.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Phase Patent Application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US02/38655, filed on Dec. 4, 2002, which claimspriority of Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 60/337,790, filedDec. 10, 2001 and Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 60/372,385,filed Apr. 15, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to beverages for suppressing the desire to ingestnicotine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the wide understanding of the health hazards caused by cigarettesmoking, many efforts have been made to produce safer products whicheliminate or reduce the need to smoke. For example, U.S. Pat. No.3,901,248 to Lichtneckert, et al., discloses a chewable smokingsubstitute composition which includes nicotine adsorbed on a cationexchange resin, which is incorporated in a chewing gum base. Whenchewed, nicotine is released to diminish the urge to smoke.

More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,211,194 to Westman et al., and U.S. Pat.No. 6,268,386 to Thompson disclose beverages which have nicotinedissolved in them, and are intended to provide the consumer withsufficient nicotine to suppress the urge to smoke.

The problem with the prior art products is that the dissolved nicotineimparts a harsh or unpleasant taste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a beverage which has been treated with nicotine,but does not have any discernable nicotine taste or smell when consumed.In brief, the beverage is prepared by dissolving nicotine in water, andthereafter filtering the mixture to remove the taste and smell ofnicotine from the water. In the preferred form, a nicotine containingsubstance is mixed with water, and the mixture is heated to atemperature above about 100° F., and preferably to the boiling point.The mixture is stirred while heating and preferably during boiling.Thereafter, the mixture is cooled, and filtered to eliminate the tasteand smell of nicotine from the water.

The nicotine containing substance is selected from a group consisting oftobacco alkaloids, which include nicotine and nicotine-like or relatedpharmacologically active compounds such as nor-nicotine, lobeline andthe like, as well as the free-base substance nicotine and allpharmacologically acceptable salts of nicotine, including acid additionsalts. Nicotine salts are useful and include nicotine hydrogen tartrateand nicotine bitartrate, as well as nicotine hydrochloride, nicotinedihydrochloride, nicotine sulfate, nicotine citrate, nicotine zincchloride monohydrate and nicotine salicylate, either alone or incombination. “Nicotine” is used herein to include all the foregoingtobacco alkaloids and nicotine salts.

“Nicotine” also includes the solid complex of one or more tobaccoalkaloid compounds bound to an ion exchange resin, or other polymerrelease system, particularly a cation exchanger. Examples of nicotineion exchange resins are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,248 toLichtneckert et al., referred to above. That patent is incorporatedherein in full. Nicotine polacrilex is especially preferred as a sourceof nicotine. Other sources include cured tobacco leaves and other plantswhich contains sufficient nicotine to be effective.

When nicotine polacrilex (a powder) is mixed with water, the materialdoes not readily go into solution at room temperature, but insteadproduces a slurry. Heating and stirring the slurry causes the nicotinepolacrilex to go into solution or at least become thoroughly dispersed.When the solution is cooled, much of the ion exchange resin solidifiesand forms a precipitate which settles out of the mixture, which ispreferably cooled to about room temperature, and thereafter filteredthrough activated charcoal to remove so much of the nicotine that it canno longer be detected by taste or smell. Preferably, the cooled solutionis passed through a mechanical filter before passing through thecharcoal filter. The processed water can also be filtered through anionic filter, such as a semi-permeable membrane used in reverse osmosisprocesses.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Nicotine in any suitable form, such as tobacco leaves, nicotinealkaloids, or the various other sources of nicotine mentioned above, ismixed with water, and heated, preferably to the boiling point, andstirred vigorously for about one to about thirty minutes. The mixture isallowed to cool, permitting any solids present to settle out. Thesupernatant liquid is then filtered to reduce the amount of nicotine inthe liquid to a level so low that it cannot be detected by taste, odor,or color.

In one presently preferred form of the invention, the nicotine is in theform of nicotine polacrilex in which nicotine is bound to anion-exchange resin, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,248 referred toabove. Nicotine polacrilex in powder form is commercially available fromSpectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp. in Gardena, California 90248. Twenty-fivegrams of nicotine polacrilex (15%, U.S.P.) was mixed in three gallons ofwater to form a slurry, which was heated to the boiling point (about210° F.) while stirring for five to ten minutes. The nicotine polacrilexpowder appeared to dissolve, or at least liquefy, so that it wasuniformly dispersed in the mixture. Thereafter, the mixture was allowedto stand and cool to about room temperature. During the cooling process,a precipitate formed and settled to the bottom of the mixture.Supernatant liquid, which had a brownish color was taken from themixture and passed through a 0.2 μm polyethersulfone (PES) membranefilter, and then through a medical grade granular activated carbonfilter, producing a water-white filtrate, which was tasteless, odorlessand colorless. Analysis of the filtrate for nicotine with high pressureliquid chromatography did not show any measurable amount of nicotine.

The PES membrane filter is available from PTI Advanced Filtration Inc.in Oxnard, California 93030. The activated carbon filter is availablefrom ResinTech Inc., in Cherry Hill, N.J. 08034 1409.

The filtered product can be consumed as drinking water, and has proveduseful in suppressing the urge to smoke cigarettes. For example, manysmokers have suppressed the urge to smoke by drinking about 500 ml ofthe treated water when experiencing the urge to smoke.

The product of this invention can also be mixed with vitamins, fruitflavoring, cola mix, and natural fruit juices to provide a variety ofbeverages with the benefit described above.

The product of this invention may also be used in alleviating thesymptoms of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), attentiondeficit disorder (ADD), Toureete's Syndrome, Schizophrenia, Parkinson'sDisease, Alzheimer's Disease, anxiety, and depression.

1. A method for preparing a solution containing processed nicotine, themethod comprising: a) stirring a mixture comprising nicotine and waterat a temperature above about 100° F. for at least 5 minutes; andthereafter b) filtering the mixture; wherein said solution comprisesprocessed nicotine and water with no other alkaloid.
 2. A method forpreparing a solution containing processed nicotine the methodcomprising: a) stirring a mixture comprising water and nicotine for atleast five minutes at a temperature above about 150° F.; b) cooling themixture to room temperature; and c) filtering the mixture.
 3. The methodaccording to claims 1 or 2 in which said mixture comprising nicotine andwater is made with nicotine polacrilex.
 4. The method according toclaims 1 or 2 in which said mixture is stirred at about 212° F. for atleast about five minutes.
 5. The method according to claims 1 or 2 inwhich said mixture is stirred and boiled for at least about fiveminutes.
 6. The method according to claims 1 or 2 in which saidfiltering step comprises filtering the mixture through activated carbon.7. The method according to claims 1 or 2 in which said filtering stepcomprises filtering the mixture through a permeable membrane.
 8. Abeverage which contains a solution containing processed nicotine whereinsaid processed nicotine is prepared by: a) stirring a mixture comprisingnicotine and water at a temperature above about 100° F. for at leastfive minutes; and thereafter b) filtering the mixture; wherein saidbeverage comprises processed nicotine and water with no other alkaloid.9. The beverage of claim 8 wherein said stirring step is at atemperature above 150° F. for at least five minutes.
 10. A beveragewhich contains a solution containing processed nicotine wherein saidprocessed nicotine is prepared by: a) stirring a mixture comprisingnicotine and water at a temperature above about 100° F. for at leastfive minutes; b) cooling the mixture to room temperature; and c)filtering the mixture.
 11. The method according to claims 1 or 2 inwhich said filtering step comprises filtering the mixture through asemi-permeable membrane.
 12. The method according to claims 1 or 2 inwhich said filtering step comprises filtering the mixture through amechanical filter.
 13. A method for preparing a solution containingprocessed nicotine, the method comprising: a) stirring a mixturecomprising nicotine and water at a temperature above about 100° F. forat least 5 minutes; and thereafter b) filtering the mixture; whereinsaid solution consists of processed nicotine, water, and at least oneadditive wherein said at least one additive is chosen from the groupconsisting of vitamins, fruit flavoring, cola mix and natural fruitjuices.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein said solution comprisesprocessed nicotine, water, and at least one fruit flavoring with noother alkaloid.
 15. A beverage which contains a solution processednicotine wherein said processed nicotine is prepared by: a) stirring amixture comprising nicotine and water at a temperature above about 100°F. for at least five minutes; and thereafter b) filtering the mixture;wherein said beverage consists of processed nicotine, water, and atleast one additive wherein said at least one additive is chosen from thegroup consisting of vitamins, fruit flavoring, cola mix, and naturalfruit juices.
 16. The beverage of claim 8 wherein said beveragecomprises processed nicotine, water, and at least one fruit flavoring,with no other alkaloid.